STAND A60
ExEcutivE REPORt
Ensuring the electrical safety of hire tools
Ant Snowdon, product manager at Seaward, explains the role of electrical safety testing in the hire industry.
T
he Hire Association Europe has recently published a revised version of its
Guidance on Electrical Safety Testing in the Hire Industry, to support hire organisations in safely conducting the appropriate combined inspection and testing procedures to all electrical equipment and appliances to be hired to the general public or businesses. The latest version of this Code of Practice is up-to-date with current regulations and provides information to guide workshop operatives.
Routine testing It is imperative that the routine testing of rental equipment is undertaken before and after hire to detect any possible defects that may pose a danger to customers during use. For example, a broken protective earth conductor in a power tool which could result in the operator being exposed to a potentially lethal electric shock if there was a breakdown of insulation.
To comply with the HAE code of practice, comprehensive safety testers should be used. Such testers should be capable of testing the resistance of the protective earth conductor, insulation resistance, flash (hi-pot or dielectric withstand test), protective conductor current, touch current, extension cord tests, with pass/fail levels established as appropriate.
The HAE code of practice recommends a full range of electrical safety tests and in some cases, instruments with the capacity to perform a ‘run’ or ‘load’ test might be appropriate. The significance of a run test is that some modern hire equipment comes fitted with a digital on switch, this means that it cannot be in the on position during flash or insulation resistance testing.
A powered test allows the operator to electrify the device under test and conduct a leakage test. This test also has an additional benefit; along with the leakage from the
product the power draw is also measured. This power draw can highlight mechanical or functional issues with the product. For example, if a product is using more power than expected it may be that something is impeding the movement of a working part, if the product is drawing less power than expected then one or more components may not be working correctly, a heater for example may not be powering all of its elements.
The tags should state details of inspections, tests carried out and repairs undertaken. It should also indicate if the equipment is ready for rental or if the equipment has been withdrawn from rental purposes.
In practice The benefits of this approach can be seen at Chadwicks Sam Hire builders’ merchants, which uses Seaward’s ‘SafeCheck 8’ testers.
Featuring pre-configured tests for Class I, Class II and IEC extension lead/power cord testing, the SafeCheck 8 automatically sequences through earth bond, insulation, earth leakage, continuity and full function load tests to ensure that hire equipment continues to perform within original specifications.
The branches’ electrical testing programmes are overseen by Chadwicks Commercial Manager, Denis Bray, who said: “The safety of our staff and customers is of paramount importance. Our testing programmes are therefore designed to ensure that hire equipment not only performs to the highest standards, but also that it is safe to use and complies with all the necessary regulations. This provides complete peace-of-mind for everyone.”
Routine testing of equipment should be undertaken before and after hire.
If any piece of rental equipment fails a visual inspection and/or electrical test at in-service testing, it should be sent for repair. After which it should return for service in an ‘as new’ condition with a formal inspection.
It is essential that a record system is maintained for every inspection and test. Specialist test data management programs are available that ensure that all records of inspection and testing are recorded to prove due diligence if a problem arises. It is also important that safety testing routines are linked to a tagging or labelling system.
Chadwicks Sam Hire’s test protocol requires that all equipment is tested before
being issued, with the test stations also producing test labels with details of the test results, equipment ID, date of test and a bar code ID for re-test purposes. Test data is also integrated with the company’s asset management software program.
Seaward’s compliance testing team helps to deliver this through a long-standing relationship which has seen comprehensive onsite and offsite product support and technical guidance. This includes technical demonstrations, help with software system amalgamation and the customisation of printed safety labelling. n
30 Executive Hire News - January/February 2023
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